Dallas Seminary Chapel

Chapel services include a time of prayer, music, and preaching. Chapel is scheduled from 10:40-11:15 A.M. Tuesday through Friday in Chafer Chapel. We invite speakers from our campus, local churches, parachurch agencies, and other various venues. Our schedule features the following annual events:
 
Nathan Maier Series in Bible Exposition (Fall)
Mission and Evangelism Lectures (Fall)
Spiritual Life Conference (Spring)
Griffith-Thomas Lectures (Spring)
Senior Preaching Week (Spring)

Services are available for the public to view or listen to online. 

Chapel Service

The administration and faculty strongly believe in the great contribution and vital role of chapel and its ministry of encouragement, worship, and community development.  Prayer needs, campus announcements, and items of general interest are all shared during this community time of rest, relief, and renewal.  During the fall and spring semesters, chapel is held from 10:40 to 11:15 A.M. each day, Tuesday through Friday.  During the summer sessions, chapel is held every Wednesday from 10:10 to 10:30 A.M. in the Mabee Lounge of the Walvoord Student Center.  There is no chapel during fall break, winter break, spring break, or reading week.

Chapel Attendance Requirements

All full- or part-time students who are enrolled in a degree or certificate program are required to attend chapel according to the table below, which is based on the number of days the student attends daytime classes (7:45 A.M.–4:30 P.M.) Tuesday through Friday. Students who are enrolled in Monday-only classes, evening-only classes (starting after 4:30 P.M.), weekend-only classes or students attending classes at one of the Seminary’s extension campuses have an on-line requirement of 10 chapels per semester (see Acceptable Chapel Media below).  The definition of attendance will be left to the honor and integrity of the student, but certainly implies more than “showing up and reading or studying” or “walking in and walking back out.”  The table below is based upon approximately sixty chapel sessions available each semester.

Required Chapel Sessions

Attendance/participation in the DTS Music Ensemble counts for chapel credit on days of rehearsal.  Each Wednesday during the fall and spring semester, students may choose to attend prayer meeting in the Chafer Chapel Prayer Room during the chapel time as part of their chapel requirement.  All students must attend chapel except nondegree, D.Min., and Ph.D. students.  Students who are full-time employees of the Seminary must only attend chapel once per month, but they are still required to report on-line twice each semester.

Acceptable Chapel Media

All students enrolled in daytime classes on the Dallas campus are expected to attend chapel services in person. Only Monday-only, evening-only, weekend-only and extension-campus students are permitted to view or listen to chapel messages per semester on the Seminary’s website via on-line streaming or podcast as part of the chapel requirement.  Either audio or video formats are acceptable, but the message must be from the current semester.

World Evangelization Conference (WEC) Attendance

Attendance is required for the spring World Evangelization Conference for at least two full days (all regular sessions scheduled between 8:00 A.M. and 12:30 P.M. on the attended days) or at least five individual sessions throughout the week. This is in addition to the regular chapel requirements for the semester.

Attendance Reports

Students must report meeting their chapel attendance requirement online. Chapel attendance is reported to the Dean of Students’ Office two times each semester in accordance with the procedure and time frames published each semester in the chapel schedule. Students must attend at least half of the semester’s required chapels during each reporting period. 

• Attendance Period #1 ends 10/9/09. Must report by 10/23/09.
• Attendance Period #2 ends 12/11/09. Must report by 12/25/09.

• Go to CampusNet.
• Enter your student ID number and password. Make sure your student page is set for the current academic semester.
  
• On the left-hand menu of your student information page, locate and select "Fall Chapel Attendance" which will take you to a new page.
• In the box at the bottom of the screen, simply click "Yes" or "No" to indicate whether you met your requirement.    

If circumstances beyond one’s control prevent fulfillment of the attendance requirement during a reporting period, a request for excuse must be filed in the Dean of Students’ Office prior to the end of the reporting period during which the absence(s) occurred.

Chapel Reductions

Requests for chapel attendance reductions must be made during the first two weeks of each semester; requests will not be accepted after that time.  Forms are available in the Students Services Office on the third floor of the Walvoord Student Center.  Requests for reductions based on employment-related changes that occur during the semester are permitted as needed.

Policy Violations

Both failure to meet the chapel attendance policy and failure to report by the deadline are considered to be violations of the chapel attendance policy.  Repeated violations will result in a letter of notice from the Dean of Students that will be placed in the student’s file.  Subsequent failures in chapel attendance and/or reporting will result in referral to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.

Commencement Chapel and Ceremony

The faculty believes the commencement events are a vital part of the academic calendar.  All nongraduating students are encouraged to attend the commencement chapel and the commencement ceremony to show support for the graduates.